ananacouture

please stop by rachel's new etsy site, ananacouture to check out her handmade stuff! she has some really adorable coaster sets, aprons, and bowls for sale.

we had a lot of fun on our photo shoots and i'm looking forward to more!

garden gnome greatness

this little guy made my day (and trevor did, too)! thank you, heal's for this amazing candle to add to the party decor.

getting excited...

more prints

garden party inspired

so, i may be a few seasons late with this idea, but the garden party is happening in a few weeks! my sleep patterns have been way off lately, hence my late night martha stewart binges and obsession with ditsy florals. i've found some really great ideas along my researching way...

1. the addy dress from anthropologie recently caught my attention-- i love the floral combo with the grey hues. it's not too dark and gloomy but isn't something i'd wear to a spring fling.
2. just found this adorable miniature tea cup ring by kacchan. it's definitely got the alice in wonderland vibe without being over the top. sometimes it's easy for me to get carried away with theme-y accessories, but this ring adds the perfect little touch. (she also makes miniature pastry and dessert cocktails rings!)
3. my friend rachel has offered to help me make these amazing lollipop cupcakes (by martha, of course). seriously, how perfect are these?! i am hoping to either make or find a tiered cupcake rack for these babies.
4. a party isn't a party without champagne! better homes and gardens has a simple recipe for champagne cocktails-- not sure if i'll actually attempt this, but it sure looks pretty. i've seen so many beautiful drinks that i don't quite know where to begin. what does everyone like to drink?

i'm still hoping to check out thrift stores in the area for tea cups, jars, bottles...anything that could hold a candle or flowers. my grandma gave me a funny set of bowls the last time she came to visit and i'm torn between using them as candy dishes or succulent homes. outdoor lights, pumpkins (?), miniature pineapple upside down cakes, a good playlist...

but what will i wear?!

fall is in the air

i love martha! i found some beautiful pumpkin carvings on her website whilst browsing for holiday ideas. i am not sure if i have the patience to tackle these lace inspired designs, but i'll definitely make a trip to the pumpkin patch to look for green pumpkins.

printing

last week i made some little van dyke photograms with hydrangea petals. i was inspired by these on etsy and thought the flowers would be appropriate for the invitations to the garden party. soon i hope to have some digital negatives made for other projects in mind. it feels good to be making stuff.

pineapple upside down cake

trevor made this for me today!

before we saw (5oo) days of summer, he spent some time this morning perfecting our dessert. i can't wait to eat it...

rosemary potatoes

for dinner tonight i utilized the fresh rosemary growing in my mom's garden. although we like to cook outside a lot during the summer, we were all in the mood for comfort food.

ingredients:
10-12 red potatoes
about 1/3 cup of olive oil (enough to generously coat the potatoes)
about a cup of rosemary (fresh or dry)
pinch of salt and pepper

how to:
after washing the potatoes, cut them into manageable pieces
in a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and toss well
evenly layer the potatoes in a baking dish
bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes (or until the potatoes are cooked through and have some crisp edges)
voila!

sometimes i use minced garlic in this recipe but toned it down this time for trev.

hydrangea

peony

may flowers

i had lots of fun playing around with these tulips (thank you tj's). it reminded me of early mornings at the radish cleaning tulips for orders. really miss the sf flower market and getting my hands dirty.

the neighborhood has gone from sweet hyacinths in bloom to brightly colored rhododendrons. peonies and hydrangeas are coming soon...

sunny afternoon

shiny new nail polish for our memorial day weekend trip to washington dc. we are flying into baltimore tomorrow morning and will drive to capital hill for museums, memorials, and so on and so on.

cambridge

trev and i went on a quick trip to cambridge this afternoon. after eating terrible pizza, we stumbled upon a lovely travel boutique called passport. i left with a simple eye mask (for the mornings when the sun rises too early and the evenings when trevor is up reading too late), though i lusted after beautiful grey tweed luggage.

we didn't spend any time on the hah-vad campus, but i did manage to photograph some bits of buildings as we drove around.

a canadian tourist?

lily of the valley

my mental map was put to good use this afternoon as i ran errands. today is deborah's (trevor's mom) birthday and i had fun gathering items for dinner (homemade pizza, mmmm) and checking out some of natick and wellsley.

trevor and i wanted to get her a little something, so i picked up this precious tea cup at my favorite place, anthropologie, and bought the lily of the valley at what is sure to be a new favorite place, winston flowers. these beauties are everywhere! when golly and i go for walks (cute photo coming soon) i notice them growing in almost every yard. some of the gardens here are so sweet, they make me want to have a tea party.

happy birthday deborah!

rusted